Category Archives: Culinary Historians of Chicago

Comfort Food (and Wine) in America

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Presented by:
Chef Susan and Drew Goss,
Owners, West Town Tavern
and Introduced by
Nancy Ross Ryan
Food journalist, editor

West Town Tavern
1329 West Chicago Ave., Chicago

Podcast courtesy of WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified

A conversation about comfort food in America must start with the gathering of Europeans in the southeast portion of the country. There, British landowners, Scotch and Welsh sheepherders, Irish farmers and African slaves first stirred the melting pot that would become American cuisine. Continue reading →

“As Always, Julia” The real skinny on how “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” came to be

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Presented by:
Joan Reardon, PhD,
Author, Culinary Historian

No podcast was made.

Do join us as one of Chicago’s own culinary treasures, Joan Reardon, shares the “backstory” of how the Julia Child/Avis DeVoto letters came to be published in her book, “As always, Julia: The letters of Julia Child & Avis DeVoto.” Dr. Reardon, who personally knew Julia, will also stress the letters’ importance in understanding the beloved woman who achieved iconic status in America’s culinary world.  Continue reading →

Appetite for Africa

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presented by:
Robert Launay, PhD
Program of African Studies, Northwestern University

Sikia Restaurant
Washburne Culinary Institute of Kennedy King College
740 W. 63rd St, Chicago

Podcast courtesy of WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified

It is hard to imagine two culinary traditions so different and yet so intimately related through history as the cuisines of the United States and of West Africa. Yet African cuisine remains a total mystery to most of the American public. Continue reading →

Chicago’s Dandy Candy History

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Presented by
Chef Jenny Lewis, C.C.E., C.H.E, Chicago Candy Tours

Podcast courtesy of WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified

Are you ready to be sweet-talked?

That’s just what Chef Jenny Lewis of Chicago Candy Tours will do when she gives us the real skinny on Chicago’s substantial candy history (we promise–the facts will not be sugarcoated!). Continue reading →

Kansha: Celebrating Japan’s Vegan & Vegetarian Traditions

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Presented by
Elizabeth Andoh
author/teacher, Tokyo and Osaka, Japan

Podcast courtesy of WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified

Kansha is both credo and culinary practice: an expression of gratitude for nature’s gifts and deep appreciation for the efforts and ingenuity of those who take nature’s bounty and turn it into good food. The spirit of kansha, deeply rooted in Buddhist philosophy and tradition, encourages all cooks to prepare nutritionally sound and aesthetically satisfying meals that avoid waste, conserve energy, and preserve the earth’s natural resources. Continue reading →